The Winchesters
by ilovedracomalfoy14
Summary: 12 year old Ansley is being hunted. Her mother was taken by a demon with yellow eyes who was searching for her and all she was told to do was to find Dean Winchester. She soon learns of a world filled with secrets but she has a few of her own. All she wants is answers. Starts with the pilot.
1. Prologue

_He's coming_. Those words have haunted my nightmares since the day they were whispered. They were a warning. A sign that my life was about to change and not for the better. A sign that my life would never be the same again.

I watched as my mother ran around the house pouring salt lines across the windowsills and across the floor in front of the doors.

"Mom, what are you doing?"

"Ansley, come here." She finished what she was doing and turned to me.

"Mom-"

"Ansley Mary Collins come here now." She rushed towards me and pulled me from my spot on the couch. She placed me in the corner of the living room and poured a circle of salt around me. "Whatever you do, do not step out of this circle until I tell you. When I do, take this," she handed me a backpack, "and the lighter. Light the lighter and throw it and run when I tell you. Run as fast as you can and don't turn back. Don't stop until you get out of town. Everything you need is in the bag." She pulled me into a hug and kissed my forehead. "Just know that I live you so much."

"Aw. How touching." A male voice said from behind my mother.

She spun around, a knife in her hand. "Azazel."

"You thought you could hide her from me? You thought giving up would keep me from finding her?" He chuckled darkly. I peeked around my mother. He looked normal, except for his eyes. They were an alarming shade of yellow. "I will take her and she will spend eternity with him."

"If you touch over hair on her head..."

"What? You think you can threaten me? You think I can be frightened so easily?" He laughed, tipping his head back.

"Go back to hell you demon." My mother stabbed the knife into where his heart should have been.

He stared down at the knife for a couple seconds before looking at my mother. "You know, I really liked this shirt." He grabbed my mother by the throat. "I guess an extra plaything won't hurt anything."

"Now Ansley!" My mother croaked.

It took me a couple seconds to overcome the shock before I remembered what I was supposed to do. I lit the lighter, throwing it at their feet before bolting it to the front door and down the stairs.

I ran down the street, hoping none of the neighbors saw me. So many questions were running through my head, but I didn't stop until I got outside of town and into the country.

I slowed down into a walk until I reached a diner on the side of the road.

"What can I get for you, sweetheart?" An all too perky waitress asked me.

"A glass of water and a piece of apple pie."

She left and I opened the backpack. There were several envelopes of different sizes in it. One was stocked full of cash. Another had my name on it in my mother's beautiful handwriting.

_Ansley_,

_I know you have a lot of questions. I can't promise you will ever be able to get answers to all of them. But I can promise, if you take my advice, you can find someone who can answer most of them. _

_Your life is now in danger. You cannot trust anyone. He has demons everywhere, itching to get their hands on you. _

I hid the letter as the waitress brought me my pie. She smiled at me, unblinking for a few seconds before going back to the kitchen. I shrugged off the creepy feeling running it's fingers up my spine. I went back to reading.

_Yes, I said demon. They are real and so are a lot of things that nightmares are made of. And I hunted them. _

_There are hunters all over the world. People like your father and I who hunt the supernatural to protect innocent people. Hunting is in your blood, Ansley. _

_Now, you must pay attention to the next few things I'm about to tell you. _

_She the man in the baseball cap two booths in front of you? Ask him for a ride into the next town. Go to the cheapest hotel in town, room 114. You'll find Dean Winchester there. Dean and Sam can help you. They're hunters as well. Their father helped me a few years ago on a hunt. They can protect you. _

_Now, if Dean is anything like I remember, he may shove a gun in your face, asking who you are. Just tell him you know me and that will change his attitude. _

_Be strong, Ansley, and know I will always be there in your heart. Your life is about to change. Trust Dean and listen to him. _

_And if you ever meet an angel named Casti_el, _be sure to thank him for me. _

_Love, _

_Mom. _

**Okay, so no joke this story has been in my head for literally almost 3 years and has just been begging me to write it. So I gave in now that I have tv again and can actually watch Supernatural. And no, I will not be abandoning my other stories I've just been really busy with graduation and moving and moving and moving again. But I've finally found a place I'll be in for longe r than a week so I'll be able to update again. And as always I don't own anything you recognize yada yada yada. And sorry for any mistakes I typed it on my phone. **


	2. The Woman in White

I stood outside the hotel room door, my legs shaking and my palms sweating. I knocked twice before a lock clicked and the door opened slightly, revealing a man with bright green eyes and light brown hair.

"Look kid, I'm not interested in buying any cookies."

"Are you Dean Winchester?"

His eyes narrowed. "Depends on who's asking."

"My mother told me to find you. She was taken by a demon-"

"Look, I can't help you because your mommy walked out on you-"

"Her name was Lisa Collins."

His face changed from annoyance to anger and before I knew it, he had me in the hotel room, my back against the door, a gun pointed in my face.

"How do you know Lisa?"

"S-she was my mother. How do you know her?"

"We had a fling a few years ago. How old are you?"

"12."

"What happened to her?"

"Well, yesterday she started acting weird and pouring salt over the windowsills and in front of the door and then poured a salt circle around me and told me not to step outside of it. Then a man appeared and he had yellow eyes and he was there for me but my mom stabbed him and nothing happened and he grabbed my mom by the throat and she told me to light the lighter she gave me and throw it and i did and she told me to run until I got out of town and I did and I stopped at a diner for some pie and she wrote me a letter to find you and Sam because you could help me." I took a gulp of air.

Dean removed his hand from my collar bone and backed away, but kept his gun in his hand. He mulled over my story for a few minutes.

"Was it good pie?"

"Fantastic."

"What kind?"

"Apple."

"Did you notice anything unusual at the diner?"

"The waitress was a little to perky and kept staring at me."

"Let me see this letter."

I opened up my backpack and I saw him tense out of the corner of my eye. I pulled the letter out, handing it to him. He sat down on one of the beds, reading over the letter.

I stood by the door, taking in everything that had happened. My mother was gone, somewhere and I would probably never see her again and now I was stuck in a hotel with a man who obviously had trust issues. I suddenly became very tired.

Dean folded up the letter, bringing me back to earth.

"Get some rest. We leave early in the morning for Stanford."

"Stanford? Why Stanford?"

"Because we're going to pick up my brother from school?"

"Isn't it October?"

"Because our dad left on a hunting trip and disappeared."

"And you want to find him, right?"

"You ask a lot of questions."

"Sorry."

I walked over to the other bed and set my stuff down before curling up in the middle. I shit my eyes trying to block out the image of the yellow eyed demon and my mother.

We reached Stanford the next night. After I had gotten over the sheer awesomeness of Dean's car and his love of classic rock, the ride was silent, aside from his singing along with the tapes.

He pulled into an alleyway. "Now stay here until I come back." He said, climbing out of the Impala, locking the doors.

I sat there for about 20 minutes, my eyes growing heavy.

I was startled awake by the slamming of the trunk. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes.

"You alive back there, shortcake?"

"Mmm." I stretched the best I could.

"Sam, Ansley, Ansley, Sam."

"She's a little young for you, Dean."

"Shut up. She's a friend's daughter."

"Since when do you babysit?"

"Her mom was ganked by a demon yesterday, Sam. I'm not babysitting, I'm playing bodyguard, and now, you are too."

"Uh, hi." He said awkwardly.

"Alright. On to Jericho." Dean started the engine, pulling away from Stanford and on to the highway.

Both Sam and I conked out until the sun rose. I jolted awake from a nightmare of my mother and the demon.

Dean pulled into a gas station. "I'm going in for breakfast." He climbed out, leaving Sam and I alone.

"So, um, your mom knew Dean?" Sam asked me, opening his door slightly.

"Yeah, She said your dad helped her on a hunt a while ago. And seen seemed pretty uptight when I mentioned her name."

"Dean's a lot less trusting than most people. Give him time though and he'll come around." Sam pulled the box of tapes from the glove compartment and started looking through them.

Dean walked out of the store, candy bar in his mouth and a bag of chips and a soda in his hand.

"You want breakfast?"

"No, thanks." He set the food on top of the trunk before removing the gas pump. "So how'd you pay for that stuff? You and dad still running credit-Card scams?"

"Yeah, well, hunting ain't exactly a pro-Ball career. Besides, all we do is apply. It's not our fault they send us the cards."

"Yeah, and what names did you write on the application this time?"

Dean climbed in the car. "Uh Bert Aframian and his son, Hector. Scored two cards out of the deal."

"Sounds about right. I swear, man,you got to update your cassette-Tape collection."

"Why?"

"Well, for one They're cassette tapes. And two Black Sabbath, Motorhead, Metallica?" Dean grabbed the tape from Sam's hand. "It's the greatest hits of mullet rock."

"House rules, Sammy driver picks the music, Shotgun shuts his cake hole."

"Yo Sammy is a chubby 12 year old. It's Sam, okay."

"Sorry, I can't hear you. The music's too loud."

I smirked at the brothers only to have a bag of chips thrown in my face. "Think fast, shortcake."

We drove on, Sam making phone calls to various places to try and find more information on where their dad might be.

"All right. So there's no one matching dad at the hospital or morgue. So that's something, I guess."

We neared a bridge that was blocked off by police.

"Check it out." Dean said, slowing the car. He pulled off the road, stopping the car. He reached over to the glove compartment and pulled out a box, shuffling through it. I think Sam and I both had the same looks on our faces. Dean pulled something out, flashing a grin at Sam before closing the box and opening the door.

"Let's go."

Dean stood by my open window. "If anything comes over to the car that's not in uniform, start stabbing." He handed me a knife through the window.

I looked at his retreating back before sighing and leaving back in the seat.

They were gone for maybe five minutes before they came back and I could taste the tension in the air. Dean started the car, driving off into town.

He parked on the side of the road.

"Come on, Ansley."

I climbed out of the car, stretching my stiff legs.

"I'll bet you that's her." Dean said.

"Yeah."

"You must be Amy." We stopped by a girl who was hanging posters in front of a theater.

"Yeah."

"Troy told us about you. We're his uncles. I'm Dean. This is Sammy. And his cousin, Ansley."

"He never mentioned you to me." I didn't like her.

"Well, that's Troy, I guess. We're not around much. We're up in Modesto."

"So we're looking for him, too, and we're kind of asking around." Sam said.

A girl walked up to Amy. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Yeah."

"Do you mind if we ask you a couple questions?"

"Sure."

We walked to a diner, taking a seat. Me next to Dean, his arm across the back of the booth.

"So, what happened the night that he disappeared."

"I was on the phone with Troy. He was driving home. He said he would call me right back, and he never did."

"He didn't say anything strange? Or out of the ordinary?" Sam asked.

"No, nothing I can remember."

"Here's the deal, ladies. the way Troy disappeared - Something's not right." Dean said. "So if you've heard anything..." The girls looked at each other. "What is it?"

"Well, it's just...I mean, with all these guys going missing, people talk."

"What do they talk about?" Both brothers asked at the same time.

"It's kind of this local legend. This one girl, she got murdered out on Centennial like decades ago. Well, supposedly, she's still out there. She hitchhikes and whoever picks her up, well they disappear forever."

"Thanks for your time." Dean said before we left.

We walked to the library to do some research on the myth. Dean tried looking up stuff in the newspaper but nothing came up.

"Let me try."

"I got it." Dean said, smacking Sam's hand off the mouse.

Sam shoved Dean's rolling chair from in front of the computer. "Dude." Dean smacked Sam's arm. "You're such a control freak."

"So angry spirits are born out of violent death, right?"

"Yeah."

"Maybe it's not murder."

Sam looked up female suicide and one result came up.

"This was 1981. Constance Welch, 24 years old, jumps off Sylvania Bridge, drowns in the river."

"Does it say why she did it?"

"Yeah."

"What?"

"An hour before they found her, she calls 911. "Her two little kids are in the bathtub. She leaves them alone for a minute, And when she comes back, They aren't breathing.

Both died. 'Our babies were gone, and Constance just couldn't bear it,' Said husband, Joseph Welch."

"That bridge look familiar to you?"

We drove back to the bridge and by that time it was dark outside. We walked over to the side, looking down at the river.

"So this is where Constance took the swan dive." Dean said.

"So you think dad would have been here?"

"Well, he's chasing the same story, and we're chasing him."

"Okay, so now what?"

Dean started walking towards the car. "Now we keep digging till we find him. It might take a while."

"Dean, I told you I've got to get back by-"

"Monday." They both said.

"Right. The interview. Yeah, I forgot. You're really serious about this, aren't you? You think you're just gonna become some lawyer, Marry your girl?"

" not?"

"Does Jessica know the truth about you? Does she know about the things you've done?"

"No, and she's not ever going to know."

"Well, that's healthy. You can pretend all you want, Sammy, but sooner or later you're gonna have to face up to who you really are."

"Who is that?"

"One of us."

"No! I'm not like you. This is not going to be my life."

"Well, you have a responsibility."

"To dad? And his crusade? If it weren't for pictures, I wouldn't even know what mom looks like.

What difference would it make? Even if we do find the thing that killed her, Mom's gone, and she isn't coming back." Dean grabbed Sam, pushing him back against a railing on the bridge.

I looked over to the side of the bridge only to see a woman standing there.

"Don't talk about her like that." Dean let go of Sam.

"D-Dean." I grabbed on to the back of his jacket.

"What?" He turned around and looked at me.

I stared wide eyed at the woman. Dean looked over where I was staring.

"Sam."

We stared at the woman who looked at us before falling off the side and seeming to float away. Sam and Dean ran over to where she jumped. I stayed where I was.

"Where'd she go?"

"I don't know."

Dean's car started, grabbing our attention.

"What the?"

"Who's driving your car?" Sam asked and Dean pulled the keys out of his pocket.

The car started accelerating and driving towards the brothers who started running. It got super close before they both jumped over the side of the bridge and the car stopped. I

ran over to where I saw them jump.

"Dean! Hey, are you alright?" I heard Sam yell. I leaned over the side to see Sam hanging off the side of the bridge and Dean at the bottom covered in mud.

"I'm super."

Sam laughed before climbing back up on to the bridge.

"You okay, kid? "

I nodded. Dean made it back on to the bridge, completely covered in mud. He walked over to the car, opening up the hood to check on his car.

"Car alright?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, whatever she did to it, it seems all right now. That Constance chick, what a bitch!" His voice echoed in the silence.

"Well, she doesn't want us digging around, that's for sure." They sat on the hood of the car. "So where's the trail go from here, genius?" Dean threw his hands up into the air.

Sam sniffed the air. "You smell like a toilet."

Dean stood up, opening the driver side door. He looked at me, his eyes softening a little.

"You still with us, shortcake?"

I nodded, climbing in the back.

The sun was coming up as we pulled into the parking lot of a hotel. We walked in and Dean threw his card on the desk.

"One room, please."

"You guys having a reunion or something?" The man behind the counter asked.

"What do you mean?" Sam asked.

"That other guy, Bert Aframian. He came in and bought out a room for the whole month." Dean looked at Sam.

They found the room, Sam picking the lock. I went in behind Sam, Dean standing outside, playing guard. Sam grabbed Dean, pulling him inside.

The room was a complete mess, with papers all over the walls, old food sitting around. Dean turned on a lamp and looked at a half eaten hamburger. There was salt all over the floor. Dean smelled the burger, dropping it in the garbage.

"I don't think he's been here for a couple days at least."

"Salt, cat's-Eye shells He was worried, trying to keep something from coming in." Dean scanned the many papers on the walls. "What do you got here?"

"Centennial Highway victims. I don't get it. I mean, different men, different jobs, age, ethnicities. There's always a connection, right? What do these guys have in common?"

Sam looked at a different wall.

I looked at the wall that had the same article we found with a piece of paper above it that said 'Woman in White'.

"What's a woman in white?" I asked

Sam stood behind me, looking at the various pictures.

"Dad figured it out."

"What do you mean?" Dean turned to us.

"He found the same article we did. Constance Welch. She's a woman in white."

"You sly dogs. All right, so if we're dealing with a woman in white, dad would have found the corpse and destroyed it."

"She might have another weakness."

"No, dad would want to make sure. He'd dig her up. Does it say where she's buried?"

"No, not that I can tell. If I were dad, though, I'd go ask her husband, If he's still alive."

"All right, why don't you see if you can find an address? I'm gonna get cleaned up."

"Hey, Dean, what I said earlier about mom and dad I'm sorry."

"No chick-Flick moments."

"All right jerk."

"Bitch."

Sam chucked and I smiled before trying to hide a yawn. Sam approached the mirror, looking at something. I wavered a little on my feet.

Sam turned around, looking at me.

"Hey, why don't you curl up and get some sleep." I nodded, rubbing my eyes.

I curled up on the bed, resting my head on my arm and closed my eyes. The bed dipped as Sam sat on the edge.

I had maybe been asleep for 5 minutes when Sam shook me awake.

"We gotta go." Sam looked out the window by the door before rushing to the bathroom, dragging me to the bathroom.

"Wait for me on the other side." He lifted me so I could climb out the window.

It was a long drop to the other side which rattled the nerves in my feet. Sam dropped out then made his way around the building.

"What's going on?" I asked Sam after he had started Dean's car.

"Cops. They caught on and now they have Dean."

"What's going to happen to him?"

Sam stared out at the road, pursing his lips. "He'll be fine."

We stopped at an old ranch.

"What are we doing here?"

"Looking for Joseph Welch."

Sam knocked on the door.

"Hi, uh, are you Joseph Welch?"

"Yeah."

"Hi, uh, I'm looking for a man and I was wondering if he'd been by here?" Sam handed him the picture he had found in his dad's hotel room.

"Yeah, he was older, but that's him. He came by three or four days ago, said he was a reporter.

"That's right. We're working on a story together."

"Well, I don't know what the hell kind of story you're working on the questions he asked me."

"About your late wife, Constance."

"He asked me where she was buried."

"And where is that again?"

"What, I got to go through these twice?"

"It's fact checking, if you don't mind."

"In a plot behind my old place over on Breckenridge."

"Why did you move?"

"I'm not gonna live in the house where my children died."

"Mr. Welch, did you ever marry again?"

"No way. Constance, she was the love of my life. Prettiest woman I ever known."

"So you had a happy marriage?"

"Definitely."

"Well, that should do it."

"Thanks for your time." We walked back to the car. Sam looked down before calling out. "Mr. Welch, you ever hear of a woman in white?"

"A what?"

"A woman in white or sometimes a weeping woman. It's a ghost story. Well, it's more of a phenomenon, really. They're spirits. They've been sighted for hundreds of years, Dozens of places in Hawaii and Mexico, lately in Arizona, Indiana. All these are different women, you understand, But all share the same story."

"Boy, I don't care much for nonsense."

"You see, when they were alive, Their husbands were unfaithful to them, And these women, Basically suffering from temporary insanity, murdered their children. Then, once they realized what they had done, they took their own lives. So now their spirits are cursed, Walking back roads, waterways, And if they find an unfaithful man, they kill him, And that man is never seen again."

"You think You think that has something to do with Constance, You smart ass?"

"You tell me."

"I mean, maybe. Maybe I made some mistakes, But no matter what I did, Constance never would have killed her own children. Now, you get the hell out of here, And you don't come back."

Sam and I drove towards the place Mr. Welch used to live. Sam dialed his phone and placed a call to 911 about shots being fired.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Distracting the cops so Dean can get out. Small town, small police force."

"Isn't that illegal."

"Trust me, most of the stuff you're going to do and see is illegal."

It was dark and I was half asleep in the front seat until Sam's phone rang.

Sam smiled. "You're welcome." There was a pause. "Tell me about it. So the husband was unfaithful. We are dealing with a woman in white. She's buried behind her old

house. I can't figure out why he hasn't destroyed the corpse yet." There was another pause. "What? How do you know?...He doesn't go anywhere without that thing. What's it say?...Coordinates. Where to?...Dean, what the hell is going on?"

I looked up at the road. "Sam!"

He looked up and slammed on the brakes, dropping the phone. He went right through the woman.

"Take me home." She was in the car. "Take me home."

"No." The passenger side door was thrown open and I was pulled from the car by some invisible force, hitting the gravel hard on my back.

The car started speeding off down the road. I sat on the ground, trying to catch my breath, before getting up and walking in the direction the car went. Another car came speeding by, only to slam on the brakes as it passed me.

"Ansley!" I looked.

"Dean!"

"Get in the car." I slid in the passenger seat and Dean took off before I even had the door shut.

"What happened?"

"Constance. She's in the car with Sam. I was pulled out of the car and it just took off.

We pulled up to a trashy looking bunch of old homes with Dean's Impala in front of one.

"Stay in the car." Dean climbed out, gun in hand.

"Dean!" But he was already gone.

I watched the house as lights started flickering, then there was a ghostly blue light. Like hell I'm staying here. I climbed out, clutching the knife Dean gave me tightly, walking to the house.

There was a crash as I made my way to the Impala.

"So this is where she drowned her kids."

"That's why she could never go home. She was too scared to face them."

"You found her weak spot. Nice work, Sammy." Dean slapped Sam's chest only to have him cry out in pain. "I wish I could say the same for you. What were you thinking

shooting Casper in the face, you freak?"

"Hey, saved your ass." He leaned down, looking at his car. "I'll tell you another thing. If you screwed up my car, I'll kill you."

I curled up in the back seat as we hit the road again.

"Okay, here's where dad went. It's called Blackbottle Ridge, Colorado."

"Sounds charming. How far?"

"About 600 miles."

"If we shag ass, we can make it by morning."

"Dean, um..."

"You're not going."

"The interview's in 10 hours. I got to be there."

"Yeah. Yeah, whatever."

"I'll take you home."

"What about Ansley?"

"What about her?"

"What are you going to do with her?"

"Take her with me."

"You can't be serious. I mean, you know what this kind of life is like, we both do. And she's only 12, she has a chance for a normal life."

"Sam. Her mom placed her in my care, okay, and I'm not going to just drop her somewhere and leave her. Her mom wanted this for her. It's not safe for her out there anymore."

It got quiet in the car until the engine stopped and Sam got out of the car.

"You'll call me if you find him? Maybe I can meet up with you later, huh?"

"Yeah, all right." Dean started the car. "Sam. You know, we made a hell of a team back there."

"Yeah."

Dean put the car in gear and drove around the corner before parking.

I sat up straight. "What's going on?"

"Something doesn't feel right." Dean climbed out of the car. "Stay here."

I leaned back in the seat and watched the building. Suddenly smoke was pouring out of the windows. I climbed out of the car and saw a man standing, staring up at the smoke a few feet in front of me. He turned around and grinned at me and in the light of the flames now pouring out the window I saw the color of his eyes. At first I thought it was a trick of the light, but then I realized what it really was. I backed up against the Impala and screamed.


	3. Wendigo

I didn't tell them about what I saw. I was scared. I was confused. I probably should have told them, but they were on a mission and there wasn't any distracting them. Plus, how would I have known if it was real or not? I was tired and it could have just been a figment of my imagination.

I sat in the backseat of the Impala, squirming a little. I thought I had bruised my tailbone when I was pulled from the Impala by the woman in white. Sam was asleep and I was watching the scenery pass by the window.

"You okay, shortcake?" Dean asked me.

I looked at him through the rearview mirror. "Mhm."

It was quiet again for a few minutes until Sam jolted awake.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Another nightmare? Want to drive for a while?"

"In your whole life, you never once asked me that."

"Just thought you might want to. Never mind."

"Look, man, You're worried about me. I get it, and Thank you, but I'm perfectly okay."

"All right."

"Where are we?"

"We are just outside of Grand Junction." Sam looked down at the map.

"You know what? Maybe we shouldn't have left Stanford so soon."

"Sam, we dug around there for a week. We came up with nothing. If you want to find the thing that killed Jessica..."

"Got to find dad first."

"Dad disappearing, and this thing showing up again after 20 years? It's no coincidence. Dad will have answers. He'll know what to do."

"It's weird, man. These coordinates he left us, this Black Water Ridge."

"What about it?"

"There's nothing there. It's just woods."

"Why is he sending us to the middle of nowhere?"

We made it to Lost Creek State Park and into the ranger station. Sam was looking at the map of the park area. While Dean and I were looking at pictures on the wall.

"So Black Water Ridge is pretty remote. It's cut off by these canyons here - Rough terrain, dense forest, Abandoned silver and gold mines all over the place."

"Dude, check out the size of this friggin' bear." Sam joined Dean and I.

"...And a dozen or more grizzlies in the area. It's no nature hike, that's for sure."

"You boys aren't planning to go out near Black Water Ridge, by any chance?" A park ranger asked.

"Oh, no, sir. We're environmental-Study majors from U.C. Boulder-Just working on a paper."

"Recycle, man."

"Bull. You're friends with that Hailey girl, right?"

"Yes. Yes, we are. Ranger... Wilkinson."

"Well, I will tell you exactly what I told her. Her brother filled out a backcountry permit saying he wouldn't be back from Black Water until the 24th. So it's not exactly a missing persons now, is it? Tell that girl to quit worrying. I'm sure her brother's just fine."

"We will."

"Well, that Hailey girl's quite a pistol, huh?"

"That is putting it mildly."

"Actually, you know what would help is if I could show her a copy of that backcountry permit. You know, so she could see her brother's return date."

The ranger dug up the permit and made a copy of it and gave it to Dean. Dean was a little too happy about it as we left the station.

"What, are you cruising for a hookup or something?"

"What do you mean?"

"The coordinates point to Black Water Ridge. So what are we waiting for? Let's just go find dad. Why even talk to this girl? "

"I don't know, maybe we should know what we're walking into before we actually walk into it."

"What?"

"Since when are you all 'shoot first, ask questions later' anyway?"

"Since now."

"Oh, really?"

We drove to the address on the permit and knocked on the door.

"You must be Hailey Collins." Dean said as the door opened "I'm Dean, this is Sam. We're rangers with the park service. Ranger Wilkinson sent us over. We wanted to ask you some questions about your brother Tommy."

"Let me see some I.D." This girl was smart.

"There you go." Dean held the fake I.D. up to the screen. The girl, Hailey studied it for a few seconds, looking at the card then at Dean.

"Come on in."

"Thanks."

"That yours?"

"Yeah."

"Nice car."

"So, if Tommy's not due back for a while, how do you know something's wrong?" Sam asked as Hailey put food on the table.

"He checks in every day by cell."

"He e-Mails photos, stupid little videos."

"But we haven't heard anything in over three days now."

"Well, maybe he can't get cell reception."

"He's got a satellite phone, too."

"Could it be he's just having fun and forgot to check in?"

"He wouldn't do that." The other guy at the table spoke up. I could tell he was uncomfortable.

"Our parents are gone. It's just my two brothers and me. We all keep pretty close tabs on each other."

"Can I see the pictures he sent you?"

"Yeah."

Sam sat down at the computer and started flicking through the pictures.

"That's Tommy." Hailey said as pictures of a young man flashed on the screen.

A video popped up on the screen. 'Hey, Hailey. Day six. We're still out near Black Water Ridge. We're fine, keeping safe, so don't worry, okay? Talk to you tomorrow.' I thought I saw something move in the background of the video and I knew Sam saw something too.

"We'll find your brother." Dean said.

"We're heading out to Black Water Ridge first thing." Dean said.

"Then maybe I'll see you there." Both Sam and Dean looked at Hailey. "Look. I can't sit around here anymore, So I hired a guide. I'm heading out in the morning, and I'm gonna find Tommy myself."

"I think I know how you feel."

"Hey, you mind forwarding these to me?" Sam asked.

"Sure."

We left Hailey's and Dean went to a bar while Sam and I went to do some research. Well, Sam was doing research and I was with him because I couldn't go to the bar.

He was watching the video again.

"Did you see that? In the background?" I asked.

He slowed the video down, going frame by frame. Lo and behold there was something moving in the background.

"That's a fraction of a second. Whatever that thing is, it can move."

Dean pulled up to a hotel. I furrowed my brow.

"Come on Ansley." He got out of the car.

"W-what?" I climbed out of the car and Dean handed me my backpack. "Dean, what are you doing?"

"I'm getting you a room." He walked towards the hotel.

"Dean-"

"I'm not taking you out there."

"Did what Sam say get to you?" He stopped and turned to me, looking down at me. The look in his eyes scared me.

"Your mom put you in my care. If anything ever happened to you, she would come back and kill me. I'm not putting you in that kind of danger."

"You really loved her, didn't you?" He stared down at me, pursing his lips before turning back around.

"Come on."

I sat on the bed as Dean poured salt over the windowsills.

"Stay here and we'll come back and get you when we're done."

"You still didn't answer my question."

He paused in the doorway before shutting the door, leaving me alone.

I took his silence as a yes.


	4. Dead in the Water

"Can I get you anything else?" The scantily clad waitress asked Dean, leaning on the bar. Dean looked up at her, smiling, pen in his mouth.

"Just the check please." Sam said, sitting back down.

"Okay." She shot Dean one more smile before walking away.

"You know, Sam, we are allowed to have fun once in a while." He pointed in the direction the waitress walked. "That's fun." Sam gave him a look. "Here, take a look at this. I think I got one. Lake Manitoc, Wisconsin. Last week, Sophie Carlton, 18, walks into a lake, doesn't walk out. Authorities dragged the water. Nothing. Sophie is the third Lake Manitoc drowning this year. None of the other bodies were found, either. They had a funeral two days ago."

"A funeral?"

"Yes, they buried an empty coffin for closure or whatever."

"Closure? What closure? People don't just disappear, Dean. Other people just stop looking for them."

"Something you want to say to me?"

"The trail for dad. It's getting colder every day."

"What are we supposed to do?"

"I don't know. Something, anything."

"I'm sick of this attitude. You don't think I want to find dad as much as you do?"

"Yeah, I know you do-"

"I'm the one that's been with him every single day for the past two years, while you've been off to college going to pep rallies. We will find dad, but until then, we're gonna kill everything bad, between here and there, okay?"

The waitress walked by and Dean leaned over, looking past Sam, checking her out.

"All right, Lake Manitoc. Hey."

"Huh?"

"How far?"

We left the restaurant and climbed back into the car. It wasn't that far to Lake Manitoc. We pulled up to the house that the girl who drowned lived in. Dean knocked on the door and a young man answered.

"Will Carlton?"

"Yeah, that's right."

"I'm Agent Ford, this is Agent Hamill. We're with the U.S. Wildlife Service."

Will walked us out by the dock.

"She was about 100 yards out. That's where she got dragged down."

"And you're sure she didn't just drown?"

"Yeah. She was a varsity swimmer. She practically grew up in that lake. She's as safe out there as in her own bathtub."

"So no splashing, no signs of distress?"

"No, that's what I'm telling you."

"Did you see any shadows in the water, maybe, some dark shape breach the surface?"

"No, again, she was really far out there."

"You ever see any strange tracks by the shoreline?"

"No, never." Why? What do you think's out there?"

"We'll let you know as soon as we do."

"What about your father? Can we talk to him?"

"Look, if you don't mind, I mean, he didn't see anything and he's kind of been through a lot."

"We understand."

We left the Carlton's house and went to the police station.

"I'm Agent Ford, this is Agent Hamill, we're with the U.S. Wildlife Services." The sheriff looked past Dean at me.

"What about her?"

Dean looked down at me. "It was bring your child to work day." He wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

"Hell of a day to bring your kid."

"Right." Dean laughed.

"Now, I'm sorry, but, why does the wildlife service care about an accidental drowning?"

"Your sure it's accidental? Will Carlton saw something grab his sister."

"Like what? Here, sit, please." We sat down across from the officer.

"There are no indigenous carnivores in that lake. There's nothing even big enough to pull down a person, unless it was the Loch Ness monster."

"Yeah, right."

"Will Carlton was traumatized, and sometimes the mind plays tricks. Still, we dragged that entire lake. We even ran a sonar sweep, just to be sure, and there was nothing down there.:

"That's weird though. That's the third missing body this year."

"I know. These are people from my town. These are people I care about."

"I know."

"Anyway…all this, it wont be a problem much longer."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, the dam of course."

"Of course. The dam. It's, uh, sprung a leak."

"It's falling apart. And the feds won't give us the grant to repair it, so they've opened the spillway. In another six months there won't be much of a lake. There won't be much of a town either, but as federal wildlife, you already knew that."

"Exactly."

"Sorry, am I interrupting? I think I'll come back later." A female voice said.

"Gentlemen, this is my daughter." Both Sam and Dean stood up.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Dean said. "I'm Dean."

"Andrea Bar."

"Hi."

"Hi."

"They're from the Wildlife Service, about the lake."

A little boy appeared next to Andrea. "Oh, hey there." Dean said. "What's your name?"

"His name is Lucas."

"Is he okay?" Sam asked.

"My grandson's been through a lot. We all have. Well, if there's anything else I can do for you, please, let me know."

"Thanks."

"You know, now that you mentioned it, could you point us in the direction of a reasonably priced motel?"

"Lake Front Motel. Go around the corner, it's two blocks up." Andrea said.

"Two."

"Would you mind showing us?"

"You want me to walk you two blocks?"

"Not if it's any trouble."

"I'm headed that way anyway. I'll be back to pick up Lucas at 3:00. We'll go to the park, okay, sweetie?"

"Thanks again."

"So, cute kid." Dean said as Andrea walked us to the motel.

"Thanks."

"Kids are the best, huh?"

"There it is. Like I said, two blocks."

"Thanks."

" Must be hard with your sense of direction, never being able to find your way to a decent pickup line."

"Enjoy your stay."

"Kids are the best? You don't even like kids." Sam said.

"I love kids."

"Name three children that you even know."

Dean scratched his head. "Ansley."

"I'm almost 13. I'm not a kid."

Sam and I walked into the motel. " I'm thinking."

"I'm going to shower." I said when we entered the motel room.

"Okay. Don't drown." Dean said. I rolled my eyes as I shut the door.

After my shower, which I was grateful for, I looked at myself in the mirror for the first time in a while. My wavy light brown hair was getting long and it needed cut badly. My light green eyes stared back at me, the dark rings surrounding them a feature I was going to have to get used to.

I walked out of the bathroom to see Sam on his laptop and Dean leaning over on the chair behind him.

"Apparently, he took Lucas out swimming. Lucas was on a floating wooden platform when Chris drowned. Two hours before the kid got rescued."

"Maybe we have an eyewitness after all.:

"No wonder that kid was so freaked out. Watching one of your parents die isn't something you just get over."

I slipped on my shoes.

"Come on, Ansley. We're going to the park."

We drove to the park, spotting Andrea on a bench and Lucas a few feet away, coloring.

"I'm here with my son."

"Ansley, why don't you go play with Lucas for a while." I gave Dean an 'are you serious' look. "Go, on."

I walked over to the bench.

"Hi, Lucas." I said, sitting criss-cross applesauce on the ground. "You mind if I draw with you for a while?"

I looked at his pictures. "You're a really good artist." I picked up some paper and a crayon. "I heard about your dad and I'm really sorry. I've been through a lot too. My mom died a few weeks ago. A man broke into our house and she died trying to protect me. I got away but it's still hard. I feel like I don't want to talk sometimes." It was silent for a few minutes. "You could draw me a picture of you and your dad doing something together. That might help. I drew this for you." I said, setting down my crayon. "That's my mom and me and De-my dad and his brother Sam. I'll see you around, Lucas."

I got up, dusting the grass from my jeans and walked back over to Sam, Dean and Andrea.

"It's just, when I think about what Lucas went through, what he saw."

"Kids are strong. You'd be surprised what they can deal with."

"You know, he used to have such life. He was hard to keep up with, to tell you the truth. Now he just sits there, drawing those pictures, playing with those army men. I just wish- hey sweetie."

Lucas handed me a picture of a house.

"Thanks."

He walked back to the bench.

We went back to the motel and Dean crashed on one bed while I sat on the other, completely engrossed in the picture. I knew it meant something, but I didn't know what.

"So, I think it's safe to say we can rule out Nessie." Sam said, bursting into the motel room.

"What do you mean?"

"I just drove past the Carlton house. There was an ambulance there. Will Carlton is dead."

"He drowned?"

"Yup. In the sink."

"What the hell? So this isn't a creature. We're dealing with something else."

"Yeah, but what?"

"I don't know. A water wraith maybe? Some kind of demon? I mean something that controls water…water that comes from the…same source."

"The lake."

"Yeah. Which would explain why it's upping the body count."

"The lake is draining. It'll be dry in a few months."

"Whatever this thing is, whatever it wants, it's running out of time. And if it can get through the pipes, it can get to anyone, almost anywhere. This is gonna happen again soon."

"And we do know one other thing for sure. We know this has got something to do with Bill Carlton. It took both his kids."

"And I've been asking around. Lucas' dad, Chris – Bill Carlton's godson."

"Let's go pay Mr. Carlton a visit."

We packed up the Impala and headed back out to the Carlton house.

"Stay here, Ansley." Dean said.

"Mhm." I was too engrossed in the picture and it's similarities to the Carlton's hosue.

Dean and Sam were gone for only a couple of minutes.

"What do you think?"

"I think the poor guy's been through hell. I also think he's not telling us something."

"So now what?"

"Dean?" I got out of the backseat.

"Yeah?"

I held the picture up in front of the house. Dean took the picture from me, looking between the house and the picture.

"What is it?" Sam asked.

"Maybe Bill's not the only one who knows something."

We drove to Andrea's house to talk to Lucas.

"I'm sorry, but I don't think it's a good idea." Andrea said.

"I just need to talk to him, just for a few minutes"

"He won't say anything. What good's it gonna do?"

"Andrea, we think more people might get hurt. We think something's happening out there."

"My husband, the others, they just drowned. That's all."

"If that's all you really believe, then we'll go. But if you think there's even a possibility that something else could be going on here, please let me talk to your son."

Andrea thought for a second. "This way."

"Hey, Lucas." I knelt down to his level. "Remember me? I wanted to say thank you for the picture. But I think I need your help again."

Dean squatted down next to me. "How did you know to draw this? Did you know something bad was gonna happen? Maybe you could nod yes or no for me." Lucas just kept drawing. "You're scared. It's okay. I understand. See, when I was your age, I saw something real bad happen to my mom, and I was scared too. I didn't feel like talking, just like you, but, see, my mom, I know she wanted me to be brave. I think about that every day and I do my best to be brave. And maybe your dad wants you to be brave, too."

Lucas handed Dean a picture. "Thanks, Lucas."

We got back into the Impala, leaving the house.

"Andrea said the kid never drew like that till his dad died. There are cases going through a traumatic experience – could make people more sensitive to premonitions, psychic tendencies. What if Lucas is tapping into it somehow? It's only a matter of time before somebody else drowns, so if you get a better lead, please."

"All right. We've got another house to find. There's a thousand yellow two-stories in this county alone."

"See this church? I bet there's less than a thousand of those around here."

"Oh, college boy thinks he's so smart."

Sam laughed. "You know, um, what you said about mom. You never told me that before."

"It's no big deal." Sam looked at Dean. "Oh, god, we're not gonna have to hug or anything are we?"

We drove around until Dean thought he found the right church.

"Stay here, Ansley. We'll be right back." I nodded, looking down at my hands. "Hey." He turned around in the front seat. I looked up at him. "It's going to be okay." I gave him a half smile and he got out of the car.

I tried to keep the tears from coming, but they just kept pooling in my eyes. After talking to Lucas then hearing Dean talk about his mom, it brought the thought that my mom was actually gone to my mind. It wasn't just some sick nightmare. It was a fresh wound.

Dean and Sam came back, driving to the Carlton's house.

"Okay, this little boy, Peter Sweeney, vanishes and this is all connected to Bill Carlton somehow"

"Bill sure as hell seems to be hiding something. And Bill, the people he loves, they're all getting punished. So that Bill did something to Peter."

"What if Bill killed him? Peter's spirit would be furious. It'd want revenge."

"It's possible."

We pulled up to the house, Mr. Carlton nowhere in sight.

"Ansley, stay here."

Dean and Sam started yelling for him after there was no answer at the door. Then I watched as Mr. Carlton drove out on a boat. Sam and Dean ran out onto the dock, yelling for Mr. Carlton to come back. Suddenly the boat flipped up into the air and both it and Mr. Carlton disappeared in the water. Sam and Dean ran back onto land and stood there, waiting for to see if Mr. Carlton would come back up.

But he never did.

After the sheriff came out and did his thing, we headed back to the station.

Andrea was there with Lucas who looked nervous.

"Sam, Dean. I didn't expect to see you here." She said.

"So now you're on a first-name basis. What are you doing here?"

"I brought you dinner."

"I'm sorry, sweetheart. I don't really have the time."

"I heard about Bill Carlton. Is it true? Is there something going on with the lake?"

"Right now, we don't know what the truth is, but I think it might be better if you and Lucas went on home."

Lucas suddenly got up and rushed to Dean, grabbing onto his arm.

"Lucas, hey, what is it?" Lucas was almost groaning in pain. Andrea ran to him, hugging him from behind. "Lucas, it's okay. It's okay."

Andrea took Lucas and left, Lucas keeping his eyes on Dean the entire way out the door.

We walked back behind the desk, taking a seat at the table across from the sheriff.

"Okay, just so I'm clear, you see…something attacked Bill's boat, sending Bill, who is a very good swimmer by the way, into the drink, and you never see him again?"

"Yeah, that about sums it up."

"And I'm supposed to believe this, even though I've already sonar-swept that entire lake and what you're describing is impossible and you're not really wildlife service? That's right, I checked. The department's never heard of you two."

"See? Now we can explain that."

"Enough, please. The only reason you're breathing free air is one of Bill's neighbors saw him steering out that boat just before you did. So we have a couple of options here. I can arrest you for impersonating government officials and hold you as material witnesses to Bill Carlton's disappearance, or we can chalk this all up to a bad day, you get into your car, you put this town in your rearview mirror, and you don't ever darken my doorstep again!"

"Door number two sounds good." Sam said.

"That's the one I'd pick."

We left the station, packing up the Impala and leaving town. Dean stopped at an intersection, staring out at the road.

"Green." Sam said.

"What?"

"Light's green." Dean started forward. "Ah, the interstate's the other way."

"I know."

"But, Dean, this job, I think it's over."

"I'm not so sure."

"If Bill murdered Peter Sweeney and Peter's spirit got its revenge, case closed. The spirit should be at rest."

"All right, so what if we take off and this thing isn't done? What if we missed something? What if more people get hurt?"

"But why would you think that?"

"Because Lucas was really scared. That's what this is about? I just don't want to leave town till I know the kid's okay."

"Who are you, and what have you done with my brother?"

"Shut up."

We got to Andrea's house.

"Are you sure about this? It's pretty late, man."

Before Dean could even press the doorbell, the door was open and Lucas was there, almost hyperventilating. He ran into the house and Dean followed.

"Lucas? Lucas!"

Water was pouring down the stairs we were running up. Lucas was knocking on the door the water was coming from. Dean moved Lucas practically shoving him into me before kicking the door down. I squatted down, wrapping my arms around Lucas, holding him back. Sam reached down into the tub, trying to pull Andrea out of the water, but something kept pulling her down.

Finally He was able to pull her out, both of them falling over onto the floor.

Andrea got cleaned up and put Lucas in bed before sitting down with Sam and I while Dean looked for something to answer the questions we all had.

"Can you tell me?" Sam asked.

"No. It doesn't make sense. I'm going crazy."

"No, you're not."

"Tell me what happened. Everything."

"I heard…I thought I heard…there was this voice."

"What did it say?"

"It said…It said, 'come play with me.' What's happening?" Dean set an old picture book down on the coffee table in between us.

"Do you recognize the kids in these pictures?"

"What? No, I mean, except that's my dad there. He must have been around 12."

"Chris Bar's drowning. The connection wasn't to Bill Carlton. It must have been sheriff. Bill and the sheriff, they were both involved with Peter."

"What about Chris? My dad, what are you talking about?"

Dean looked over to see Lucas standing by the window. "Lucas? Lucas what is it?"

Lucas opened the door and walked out and we all got up and followed him.

"Lucas, honey?"

Lucas suddenly stopped and looked up at Dean.

"You and Lucas get back to the house and stay there, okay." Dean said to Andrea. Andrea pulled Lucas back to the house. "Ansley, stand here. Let's go get some shovels." Dean and Sam left me and suddenly the trees seemed really close.

Dean and Sam came back and started digging in the spot Lucas stopped. Suddenly one of them hit something hard. They dropped the shovels and started digging with their hands. They pulled something out that resembled a bike.

"Peter's bike." Sam said.

"Who are you?" A voice said from behind the boys.

"Put the gun down, Jake." Sam said, holding his hands up.

"How did you know that was there?"

"What happened – You and Bill killed Peter, drowned him in the lake, and then buried the bike? You can't bury the truth, Jake. Nothing stays buried.

"I don't know what the hell you're talking about."

"You and Bill killed Peter Sweeney 35 years ago. That's what the hell I'm talking about."

"Dad!" Andrea came running over.

"And now you got one seriously pissed-off spirit."

"It's gonna take Andrea, Lucas and everyone you love. It's gonna drown them, and its gonna drag their bodies god knows where. So you can feel the same pain Peter's mom felt. And then after that, it's gonna take you, and it's not gonna stop until it does."

"How do you know that?"

"Because that's exactly what it did to Bill Carlton."

"Listen to yourselves, both of you. You're insane."

"I don't really give a rat's ass what you think of us, but if we're gonna brig down this spirit, we need to find the remains, salt them and burn them into dust. Tell me you buried Peter somewhere. Tell me you didn't just let him go in the lake."

"Dad, is any of this true?"

"No. Don't listen to them. They're liars and they're dangerous."

"Something tried to drown me. Chris died on that lake. Dad, look at me. Tell me you didn't kill anyone."

The sheriff couldn't look at her.

"Oh my god."

"Billy and I were at the lake. Peter was the smallest one. We always bullied him, but this time it got rough. We were holding his head under the water. We didn't mean to, but we held him under for too long, and he drowned. We let the body go, and it sank. Oh, Andrea. We were kids. We were so scared. It was a mistake, but Andrea, to say that I have anything to do with these drowning, with Chris, because of some ghost - it's not rational."

"All right, listen to me. All of you. We need to get you away from this lake. As far as we can right now."

Andrea gasped. Lucas was right on the edge of the dock.

"Lucas!" The sheriff yelled.

We all ran towards him.

"Lucas! Stay where you are!" Andrea yelled.

Suddenly an arm grabbed Lucas and he was dragged in. Sam and Dean ran down the dock, both diving in.

Andrea was taking off her sweatshirt when Jake and I reached her.

"No!" I yelled, grabbing her arm.

"Andrea, stay there!" Sam said. "We'll get him, stay on the dock."

Andrea dropped to her knees and looked into the water. Both Sam and Dean popped up before diving back down. Andrea wrapped her arms around me.

"Peter, if you can hear me," I looked to my right and saw the sheriff entering the water. "Please, Peter, I'm sorry. I'm so – I'm so sorry." He was going in deeper and deeper. "Peter. Lucas – he's just a little boy. Please, it's not his fault. It's mine. Please take me!"

Sam and Dean both popped up again for air. "Jake, no!" Dean yelled.

"Just let it be over!" The sheriff got quiet and suddenly he was dragged underwater.

Dean and Sam both dived down again. Sam came back up, shaking his head. Andrea screamed before Dean broke the surface, Lucas in his arms. But Lucas looked very still.

Dean, with the help of Sam, put Lucas on the dock before pulling himself out of the water. I started CPR on Lucas, pumping on his chest.

"Come on." I whispered and suddenly he started spitting up water. Andrea and I rolled on him on his side.

Dean, Sam and I, after getting Andrea and Lucas settled, we headed back to the motel. Both Sam and Dean showered, getting themselves cleaned up before packing up and heading back to the Impala. Both were very quiet.

"Look, we're not gonna save everybody." Sam said.

"I know."

"Sam, Dean, Ansley." We heard a female voice yell.

Andrea and Lucas were coming towards us.

"Hey." Dean said, as we walked over to them.

"We're glad we caught you. We just, um, we made you lunch for the road. Lucas insisted on making the sandwiches himself."

"Can I give it to them now?" He asked.

"Of course."

"Come on, Lucas, let's load this in the car." Dean said, walking off with Lucas.

"How you holding up?" Sam asked.

"It's just gonna take a long time to sort through everything, you know?"

"Andrea, I'm sorry"

Andrea shook her head. "You saved my son. I can't ask for more than that. Dad loved me. He loved Lucas. No matter what he did, I just have to…hold on to that."

We walked over to the Impala.

Andrea leaned over and kissed Dean on the cheek. "Thank you."

Lucas wrapped his arms around my waist. I wrapped my arms around him, holding him close.

"Thank you." He said to me.

"Take care, okay Lucas?" He grinned at me.

Dean scratched his head. "Sam, move your ass. We're gonna run out of daylight before we hit the road." He said, walking around to the driver's side.

I slid in the backseat behind Sam. Andrea and Lucas waved at us as Dean started the engine.

I stretched out in the back seat, leaning back against the window. This was going to be a long bumpy road.


	5. Phantom Traveler Part I

**Sorry for the long delay but I started a new job and I work 10 hours a day, four days a week so I sleep on my days off but I'm back. Please review and don't be afraid to leave some constructive criticism. You won't hurt my feelings.**

**Terry: Thanks for the review! And now that I'm actually putting this idea on paper, its becoming harder than I thought to put a 12 year old in Supernatural, but I promise it will get better as I go along.**

We had stopped at a motel, and after a long battle, I ended up curled up on the bed next to Dean who was spread out on his stomach. Sam was in the other bed, though if he actually slept any is debatable.

Sam got up around 5:30, waking me up, since I had suddenly become a light sleeper after finding out the monsters under my bed and in my closet may be real.

"Sam?" I whispered, sitting up and rubbing the sleep from my eyes. Dean was still fast asleep next to me.

"Hey. You wanna go get coffee?" He whispered back, slipping on his shoes.

I nodded, climbing out of the bed, stretching my sore limbs. Having slept all night in a fetal position left my legs cramping. I grabbed my bag and headed to the bathroom.

After brushing my hair and changing clothes, I made my way across the street to the coffee shop with Sam.

Sam had broken down whatever barrier he had towards me and had become like an older brother.

After Sam got himself and Dean a cup of coffee and I got hot chocolate, we went back to the hotel room. As far as we could tell Dean was still asleep in the same position we left him in.

"Morning sunshine." Sam said as he stepped around the decorative glass wall that separated the beds from the door.

"What time is it?" Dean asked.

"Uh, it's about five forty-five."

"In the morning?"

"Yep." I said.

"Where does the day go?" Dean sat up in bed. "Did you get any sleep last night?"

"Yeah, I grabbed a couple hours."

"Liar. 'Cause I was up at three, and you were watching a George Foreman infomercial."

"Hey, what can I say? It's riveting TV."

"When was the last time you got a good night's sleep?"

"I don't know, a little while, I guess. It's not a big deal."

"Yeah, it is."

"Look, I appreciate your concern—"

"Oh, I'm not concerned about you. It's your job to keep my ass alive, so I need you sharp." Sam shrugged. "Seriously, are you still having nightmares about Jess?"

Sam walked over to the other bed, sitting down on it. He handed Dean one of the coffees.

"Yeah. But it's not just her. It's everything. I just forgot, you know? This job. Man, it gets to you."

I sat down on the end of Dean's bed, pulling my knees up to my chest.

"You can't let it. You can't bring it home like that."

"So, what? All this it...never keeps you up at night?" Dean shook his head. "Never? You're never afraid?"

"No, not really."

Sam reached under Dean's pillow and held up a huge knife. I gulped. I had been sleeping close to that. Dean took the knife back.

"That's not fear. That is precaution."

"All right, whatever. I'm too tired to argue."

All of a sudden, Dean's phone started ringing. He looked at the number, looked at Sam then answered it.

"Hello?"

Dean, it's, uh, it's Jerry Panowski. You and your dad helped me out a couple years back.

"Oh, right, yeah, up in Kittanning, Pennsylvania, the poltergeist thing. It's not back is it?"

No. No. Thank god, no. But it's something else, and...uh, I think it could be a lot worse.

"What is it?"

Can we talk in person?

Dean and Sam looked at each other.

"All right, we'll be right there."

Thank you, Dean.

"Let's pack up, hit the road." Dean said, standing up to find his pants.

We packed up the Impala, driving over to the aircraft manufacturing plant.

"Jerry, nice to see you again." Dean said, shaking a short, bald man's hand.

"This is my brother, Sam, and this is Ansley." He shook both of our hands. His hands were clammy and I resisted the urge to wipe my hand on my jeans.

"Thanks for making the trip so quick. I ought to be doing you guys a favor, not the other way around. Dean and your dad really helped me out." He told Sam.

"Yeah, he told me. It was a poltergeist?"

"Poltergeist? Man, I loved that movie." A random guy said as we walked by.

"Hey, nobody's talking to you. Keep walking. Damn right it was a poltergeist, practically tore our house apart. Tell you something, if it wasn't for you and your dad, I probably wouldn't be alive. Your dad said you were off at college. Is that right?"

"Yeah, I was. I'm…taking some time off."

"Well, he was real proud of you. I could tell. He talked about you all the time."

"He did?"

"Yeah, you bet he did. Oh, hey, you know I tried to get a hold of him, but I couldn't. How's he doing, anyway?"

"He's, um, wrapped up in a job right now."

"Well, we're missing the old man, but we get Sam. Even trade, huh?"

Both Dean and Sam laughed. "No, not by a long shot."

"I got something I want you guys to hear."

We got to Jerry's office and he put a disc into his computer.

"I listened to this. And, well, it sounded like it was up your alley. Normally I wouldn't have access to this. It's the cockpit voice recorder for United Britannia flight 2485. It was one of ours."

Mayday! Mayday! Repeat! This is United Britania 2485—immediate instruction help! United Britanis 2485, I copy your message—May be experiencing some mechanical failure...

There was a loud whooshing sound, almost like a growl, then it just stopped.

"Took off from here, crashed about two hundred miles south. Now, they're saying mechanical failure. Cabin depressurized somehow. Nobody knows why. Over a hundred people on board. Only seven got out alive. Pilot was one. His name is Chuck Lambert. He's a good friend of mine. Chuck is, uh...well, he's pretty broken up about it. Like it was his fault."

"You don't think it was?"

"No, I don't."

"Jerry, we're gonna need passenger manifests, um, a list of survivors." Sam said.

"All right."

"And, uh, any way we can take a look at the wreckage?" Dean asked.

"The other stuff is no problem. But the wreckage...fellas, the NTSB has it locked down in an evidence warehouse. No way I've got that kind of clearance."

Dean nodded his head and I could almost see wheels turning. "No problem."

We left the warehouse and went into town. Dean parked in front of a place called 'Copy Jack' and disappeared. Sam and I sat in the car, Sam playing the recording from the plane on his laptop.

"What are you doing?" I leaned over seat.

"I'm checking for an EVP."

"A what?"

"Electronic Voice Phenomenon. They're captured voices of spirit beings, made possible when the beings interrupt the Electromagnetic Field." I nodded, really not understanding what he was saying.

"Here."

He slowed the audio down on the recording until a creepy voice said "No survivors."

"That's an EVP."

Sam shut his laptop, getting out of the car. I got out, leaning next to him, waiting for Dean.

"No survivors." Sam murmured. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Maybe it's like Final Destination. "

"What?"

"The movie. Final Destination. A kid has a premonition on a plane that it's going to blow up and gets himself and 7 other people kicked off the plane and it does blow up after take off and suddenly the 7 survivors start dying in freak accidents because they cheated death. But you can't cheat death." Sam looked at the ground. "Jerry said there were 7 survivors."

The door opened and Dean finally walked out.

"You've been in there forever."

Dean held up two ID's. "You can't rush perfection."

"Homeland Security?" Sam took one of the ID's. "That's pretty illegal, even for us."

"Yeah, well, it's something new. You know? People haven't seen it a thousand times".

We got in the car.

"Alright, so, what do you got?"

"Well, there's definitely EVP on the cockpit voice recorder."

"Yeah?"

"Listen."

He played back the tape until it said 'No survivors!'

"'No survivors'? What's that supposed to mean? There were seven survivors." Dean asked.

"Got me."

"So, what are you thinking? A haunted flight?"

"There's a long history of spirits and death omens on planes and ships, like phantom travelers."

"Mm-hmm."

"Or remember flight 401?"

"Right. The one that crashed, the airline salvaged some of its parts, put it in other planes, then the spirit of the pilot and copilot haunted those flights."

"Right."

"Yep."

"Maybe we got a similar deal. Or Ansley had another idea."

I told Dean my theory.

"But that's a movie." Dean said, looking back at me.

"Most of the stuff I used to believe only happened in movies is now real."

"Alright, so, survivors, which one do you want to talk to first?"

I huffed and leaned back in the backseat.

"Third on the list: Max Jaffey."

"Why him?"

"Well, for one, he's from around here. And two, if anyone saw anything weird, he did."

"What makes you say that?"

"Well, I spoke to his mother. And she told me where to find him."

"Where?"

"Riverfront Psychiatric Hospital."

Dean started the Impala and drove to the hospital.

"You're not gonna make me go in there, are you?" I looked at the tall black gates.

"Sure, it'll be good for you. Crazy people love seeing young faces."

"I think that's old people." I said, getting out of the backseat.

Dean and Sam flashed their badges to the guard and a doctor brought Max out. He was young, and he was walking with a cane.

Dean and Sam introduced themselves with their new Homeland Security badges.

"I don't understand. I already spoke with Homeland Security."

"Right. Some new information has come up. So if you could just answer a couple questions..."

"Just before the plane went down, did you notice anything...unusual?" Sam asked.

"Like what?"

"Strange lights, weird noises, maybe. Voices." Dean said.

"No, nothing."

"Mr. Joffey…" Dean said sitting down at a table and I almost face palmed.

"Jaffey."

"Jaffey. You checked yourself in here, right?" Max nodded. "Can I ask why?"

"I was a little stressed. I survived a plane crash."

"Uh huh. And that's what terrified you? That's what you were afraid of?"

"I...I don't want to talk about this anymore."

"See, I think maybe you did see something up there. We need to know what."

"No. No, I was...delusional. Seeing things."

"He was seeing things." Dean said to Sam.

"It's okay. Then just tell us what you thought you saw, please."

"There was...this—man. And, uh, he had these...eyes—these, uh...black eyes. And I saw him—or I thought I saw him..."

"What?"

"He opened the emergency exit. But that's...that's impossible, right? I mean, I looked it up. There's something like two tons of pressure on that door."

"Yeah."

"This man, uh, did he seem to appear and disappear rapidly? It would look something like a mirage?"

"What are you, nuts?"

"He was a passenger. He was sitting right in front of me."

"Thank you for your time." Sam said.

"Well that went well." I said, getting in the back seat of the Impala.

"So where to next?" Dean asked.

"George Phelps." Dean drove to a house, parking in front of it.

"So here we are. George Phelps, seat 20C."

"Hmm. Man, I don't care how strong you are." We got out of the car. "Even yoked up on PCP or something, no way you can open up an emergency door during a flight."

Dean turned around in the drivers seat.

"Stay here, don't move. We'll be back in a few minutes.

"Why do I have to-" my words were silenced with the slam of the drivers side door.

I huffed and crossed my arms, leaning back in the seat, pouting like a little kid.

It had been about 5 minutes when I saw him. He was standing at the end of the street, staring right at the Impala. I glanced at the house before looking back at the corner. He had disappeared. I climbed out of the Impala, running down the street. I looked both ways at the corner before taking a right. I ran two blocks before spotting him. He was leaning against a tree on the edge of someone's yard.

"Why are you following me?"

He chuckled. "My dear Ansley." He pushed himself from the tree, stepping closer to me. "So naive." He grabbed my chin, his yellow eyes boring into mine. I tried to jerked away but his grip was an iron vice. "You see, taking your mother was all part of my plan. Now that I've eliminated one of the barricades, I've just got the Winchester boys to take care of and you're all mine. I've got great plans for you. You're a special girl, Ansley. You know, your mother knew her time was up. She gave herself up so willingly when she could have just handed you over. She wishes every day she would have done that. A lot of people could have been saved had she just handed you over."

The tears pooled in my eyes and I broke away from him.

"You liar." My voice broke.

He only chuckled darkly. "Your clock is ticking, Ansley. It's only a matter of time." He disappeared, leaving the faint smell of matches behind.

I collapsed on the ground, pulling my knees to my chest, the tears falling. I shouldn't let his words get to me. He wanted me to be weak and helpless.

There was a screech and a car stopped in front of me. I was in a butt-load of trouble.

"Ansley!"

Sam reached me first, kneeling down next to me.

"Ansley, don't you ever do that to us again." Sam said. "You scared the daylights out of us." I looked up at Dean who was kneeling in front of me. Sam's mood immediately changed and he placed a hand on my back. "Hey..." He said softly.

"I'm sorry." I said sniffling. "He's been following me."

"Who's been following you?" Dean asked.

"The demon that took my mom."

"Don't ever go after a demon by yourself, you hear me? They're dangerous and strong and could take you out with a flick of their wrist, you hear me?" I nodded. He looked me dead in the eye and the look in them chilled me to the bone. "Promise me you're not going to run off again."

"I promise." I said quietly, wiping the tears from my face.

"Come on." Dean stood and Sam pulled me to my feet.

The car was silent except for my sniffling in the backseat.

Dean pulled up to a store that said: Mort's for Style.

"Come on, kids, we've got some shopping to do." Dean said, climbing out of the Impala.

Sam and I followed him into the store. I sat in the chair by the dressing rooms as Sam and Dean were measured and tried on different suits.

I laughed at the look on Dean's face as he paid for the suits.

"Man, I look like one of of the Blues Brothers." Dean said as we left the store.

"No you don't. You look more like a seventh grader at his first dance."

Dean looked down at himself before starting towards the Impala. "I hate this thing."

"Hey, you want into that warehouse or not?"

Dean didn't say anything as we climbed into the Impala.


End file.
